Jeremiah 9:6

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Intolerance, or Love?Christians are so often called intolerant. In a culture that has accepted the muddled postmodern idea of ethics, to condemn any belief or behavior can be hazardous, and is now reserved for the select few who refuse to act like they do not know the truth. I want you to be one of them. As you probably know, the controversy over gay and lesbian rights has now infiltrated the Church, and the ELCA Lutheran Church is now saying there is nothing wrong with homosexuality. But the Bible says something very different:

“Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable” (Leviticus 18:22).

“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator - who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion” (Romans 1:25-27).

The Bible is the Truth

Both the old and new testament give us the same message: homosexuality is indecent, a perversion, unnatural, even detestable. Clearly, this is not the politically correct ideology popular today. There is today, and will continue to be for perhaps as long as the world exists, much question as to the correct interpretation of these and similar texts. The fact is, nothing is impossible to justify. You may argue about the interpretation of the Bible as long as you wish. I simply do not care. Anyone who reads the Bible to find truth will be convinced that God is against homosexual behavior. But anyone who decides what “truth” is convenient for him/her, will only try to twist the words of God into their own beliefs when reading the Bible. If the Bible says that Homosexuality is wrong, and one of the primary beliefs of Christianity is the Divine inspiration of the Bible, how are Christians to blame for intolerance?

The Reason for HomosexualitySome argue that God created homosexuals the way they are. But Romans 1:25 tells us the very reason for Homosexuality. “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things… Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts”. What is the truth of God? Homosexuality is wrong. And the Lie? Homosexuality is natural. We have been plagued with Homosexual lust as a society because we are exchanging God’s truth for a lie.

A Christian’s ResponseIf God does not tolerate homosexuality, then how should Christians respond? God says there is a “due penalty for [homosexual] perversion”. As Christians, then the best thing we can do is to warn gay and lesbian people of the consequences of their behavior, and help them overcome their condition. This is not done out of hatred or “intolerance” but out of love. There are those, of course, who look down on homosexuals. This is entirely wrong, and very much outside the will of God. Christians should love the homosexual, but hate the perversion, just as Jesus would have. But while we love the gay/lesbian person, we cannot simply back down, or be silent about the moral authority of the Bible. God has given us the truth, and he has given us the power to love people a way the world cannot explain, so let’s use it!